It’s that time of the week when we shine some light on the commonest uses of similar-looking Spanish words. Today it’s the turn of rayo and raya.
Starting with rayo (masculine), you can listen to how it’s pronounced here:
Linear in form, un rayo is one of the radiating beams that shine out from a source of light – a ray or beam:
Las lentes convencionales y las lentes de contacto redirigen y enfocan los rayos de luz hacia la retina.
Conventional lenses and contact lenses redirect and focus light rays towards the retina.
Los rayos del sol se filtran entre las hojas.
The sun’s rays filter or The sunlight filters through the leaves.
Los rayos del sol brillan a través del follaje.
The sunbeams are or The sunlight is shining through the foliage.
Un rayo can also be a ray or beam of another type of energy:
El vidrio de plomo se utiliza también para absorber los rayos X y gamma.
Lead glass is also used to absorb X-rays and gamma rays.
Estas lámparas fluorescentes no emiten rayos UV que destiñen los materiales de color.
These fluorescent lights don’t emit UV rays that fade coloured materials.
los rayos cósmicos
cosmic rays
rayos de neutrones
neutron beams
When there’s a storm, un rayo is a sudden flash of light in the sky caused by a discharge of electricity between clouds or between clouds and the earth – lightning or a flash of lightning:
El 7 de mayo de 1817 hubo una tormenta y cayó un rayo que destrozó el campanario.
On 7th May 1817 there was a storm, and lightning struck, destroying the bell tower.
un cielo tormentoso con rayos en medio de una intensa lluvia
a stormy sky with flashes of lightning in the midst of heavy rain
As rayo comes from the same Latin root as radius, it may not be surprising to learn that un rayo can also be any of the bars that connect the central hub to the rim of a wheel (and resemble the rays a child draws round the sun) – a spoke:
La rueda tiene 24 rayos.
The wheel has 24 spokes.
una ilusión óptica en la cual una rueda con rayos parece rotar en la dirección opuesta a la que en realidad está girando
an optical illusion in which a wheel with spokes appears to rotate in the opposite direction from the way it is actually turning
Turning to raya (feminine) you can listen to its pronunciation here:
Una raya is a long, straight mark of various kinds. It might be a line written, drawn or printed on something:
Dibujó la raya con un gesto enérgico.
He drew the line with a flourish.
Escribía una idea y trazaba una raya de separación.
He would write down an idea and draw a line to separate it off.
Tenemos que trazar una raya gruesa y visible entre el poder político y el financiero.
We need to draw a thick, visible line between political and financial power.
Una raya might also be a line or band of a different colour on something – a stripe:
Lleva una camiseta de rayas horizontales en tono rojo y blanco.
He’s wearing a T-shirt with red and white horizontal stripes.
Viste una falda a rayas verticales.
She’s wearing a vertically striped skirt.
las gafas oscuras y los trajes a rayas
dark glasses and pinstripe suits
Many of us comb our hair so as to leave una raya in the middle or to one side – a parting in British English or a part in American English:
Está peinada con raya central.
She has a middle parting or part.
Tenía el pelo cortado a navaja con raya a un lado.
He had a razor cut with a parting or part on one side.
In writing and print, una raya is a horizontal punctuation mark that is longer than un guión (a hyphen). It’s a dash:
El guion sirve para unir dos palabras y la raya tiene otros cometidos.
The hyphen is used to link two words, while the dash has other roles.
signos de puntuación como la raya o las comillas
punctuation marks such as the dash or quote marks
Una raya on the surface of something can be a shallow mark cut into it – a scratch:
Su superficie está estriada por grietas y rayas.
Its surface is marked with cracks and scratches.
Una raya can also be a pressed fold in trousers or other items of clothing – a crease:
un pantalón con raya planchada
a pair of trousers with pressed creases
Turning to marine and aquatic life, una raya is any of numerous kinds of flattish fish with long whip-like tails and sail-like pectoral fins – a ray or a skate:
las descargas eléctricas producidas por rayas eléctricas
the electric charges emitted by electric rays
La laguna sólo alberga dos peces venenosos: la raya y el pez de roca.
The lagoon is home to only two kinds of poisonous fish: rays and rock fish.
Otro pescado apreciado es la raya, que se puede cocinar en el horno.
Another much-valued fish is the skate, which can be baked in the oven.
Join us again next week to dive into a sea of information about how some more similar-looking Spanish words are used.
